I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 23 Chao Cuo and Zhidu

"Sigh~"

Weiyang Palace, side hall of Xuanshi Hall.

Feeling the burning pain coming from the corner of his mouth, Chao Cuo only gasped for breath, but he still couldn't bear to let go of his face, and said "lighten";
In front of Chao Cuo, Zhonglang Jiang Zhidu carefully wiped Chao Cuo's wounds under the order of Emperor Liu Qi.

— Mainly the bruises on the face.

As for where Chao Cuo was injured other than his face, it was not difficult to guess from Chao Cuo's not arched waist and cold sweat on his forehead from time to time.

"That villain, Shentu Jian!"

"These faces are all fake!"

"The real chapter under the fist and foot, all hello to the next three ways!!!"

"Sigh~~~"

Gritting his teeth and cursing, Chao Cuo finally couldn't bear the pain anymore, subconsciously shrunk his face back, bowed his waist, and twisted his back with a distorted face.

Nei Shi Chao Cuo, who is the head of the nine ministers among the two thousand stones in the majesty, put on a look of "egg pain" in front of him, even though Zhidu, who never smiled in front of outsiders, couldn't help laughing. A chuckle.

"Gong Chao's skills were taught by martial masters, and he was able to improve by competing with others and learning from each other."

"But the prime minister's boxing skills are all produced in the battle formation, with punches, kicks, spears, swords, and even teeth and claws."

"Warriors' sparring and competitions will naturally end; but on the battlefield, there are not many 'gentlemen's appointments'."

"The real killing skills are mostly vulgar, but they can always catch the enemy by surprise, and easily cause huge damage to the enemy in a very short period of time..."

Listening to Zhidu explaining the difference between 'flower stand' and 'killing technique' to himself, Chao Cuo only felt a dull pain between his legs, which suddenly became more intense;
He bowed his waist and squatted down, propped his knees with trembling hands, his forehead, which was already covered with beads of sweat, was faintly bursting with veins one after another...

"Well!"

"Well······"

"Shen Tujia..."

"Emmmmmm!!!"

Just like that, Chao Cuo gritted his teeth for a while, groaned for a while, bowed down and squatted down for a while, and tried to stand up again for a while;

I don't know how long it took before Chao Cuo finally recovered from the pain of 'broken egg';
Full of embarrassment, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then turned around with an embarrassed expression, and bowed his hands slightly to Zhi.

"General Zhonglang, I'm sorry..."

After saying something with a stiff smile, Chao Cuo moved his steps carefully and knelt down at the banquet beside him;
Seeing this, Zhi Du hesitated again and again, but finally gave up the plan to bid farewell, walked forward naturally, and sat beside Chao Cuo.

"Before, I haven't had time to thank Mr. Chao."

Said a word softly, but it provoked Chao Cuo to wave his hands again and again.

"It's okay."

"That incident was originally a play on the part of Young Master Sheng."

"Your Majesty really can't see it, so I speak up in front of His Majesty..."

Talking casually, Chao Cuo took another deep breath, making sure that the injury in his crotch was fine, and then turned sideways thoughtfully.

"But that matter, Zhi Zhonglang, is indeed a bit menglang."

"—No matter what, the young master is still His Majesty's heir, and the Empress Dowager is His Majesty's biological mother;"

"Although Zhi Zhonglang has reason, he shouldn't be as tough as the young master and the queen mother."

"After all, as ministers, we should solve His Majesty's worries and problems instead of embarrassing His Majesty?"

Hearing this, Zhi Du only nodded slightly ashamed, and gave Chao Cuo a little bow.

"Mr. Chao is vigilant, and I will keep it in mind."

Seeing Chao Cuo sighing lightly and nodding his head, waving his hands to signal Zhidu to sit down, lowering his head and thinking for a while, he sighed inexplicably again.

"Ah~"

"The policy of cutting down the vassals is a big policy that I have thought about for many years and came up with for the country and the country;"

"My Majesty and I have also prepared for many years to cut down the feudal clan."

"But now, the prime minister is obstructing this matter in every possible way. Even Your Majesty is helpless against the prime minister..."

Said full of sorrow, Chao Cuo shook his head with a wry smile.

"Earlier, His Majesty took advantage of the incident between Young Master Sheng and Zhi Zhonglang to send Young Master Sheng to the Prime Minister's side."

"——The purpose is to let the prime minister have no time to care about others, and stop staring at the "Strategy to Reduce Fans" all day long;"

"It's a pity that your majesty has worked so hard, but the prime minister doesn't appreciate it at all."

"If this continues, I'm afraid that the Prime Minister will follow the old path of Beiping Marquis Zhang Cang..."

Hearing Chao Cuo's words, Zhi Du also nodded thoughtfully, then lowered his head.

Zhang Cang, Marquis of Beiping, was the last prime minister before Shen Tujia, and was also a founding father. He was the censor of the Qin court, that is, a librarian, and he was also a disciple of Xunzi.

The achievements of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen during his reign were almost all completed during the tenure of Zhang Cang;
Once upon a time, Emperor Xiaowen and Zhang Cang were also a model of "the emperor is wise, his ministers are virtuous, and complement each other".

It's a pity that in the end, Zhang Cang had a dispute with Emperor Xiaowen because of Emperor Xiaowen's "Huanglong Changing Yuan", and he was stubborn and refused to let Emperor Xiaowen step down at all;
In desperation, Emperor Xiaowen finally had no choice but to let Hou Zhang Cang of Beiping become the first prime minister dismissed by the emperor since the Han Dynasty.

——Before Zhang Cang, the prime ministers of the Han family all died of old age in office without exception!
As for the successor, each generation of Han Prime Minister personally recommended to the emperor before his death.

For example, Hou Xiaohe, the first prime minister of the Han Dynasty, recommended Cao Shen, Marquis of Pingyang; before Cao Shen died, he recommended Wang Ling, Marquis of Anguo, and Chen Ping, Marquis of Quni.

Then to Jianghou Zhou Bo after Chen Ping, and Yingyin Hou Guanying after Zhou Bo...

Including Beiping Hou Zhangcang himself, who was also recommended by the previous prime minister Guan Ying to Emperor Taizong Xiaowen before his death.

But when Zhang Cang was dismissed, he naturally lost the power to 'pick a successor';

Emperor Taizong Xiaowen thought about it, but in desperation, he had no choice but to pull out the general from among the dwarfs, and chose Shen Tujia as the prime minister.

Under the unspoken rule of the Han Dynasty that "you can't be a prime minister unless you are a Marquis", Emperor Taizong even adopted a special way of granting Shen Tujia as a marquis in the morning and worshiping Shen Tujia as the prime minister in the afternoon.

But now, Shentujia's attitude on the matter of "Cutting down the Fan" is very similar to the scene where Zhang Cang and Emperor Xiaowen were at war with each other in the matter of changing Huanglong to Yuan...

"Ah~"

"Although Shen Tujia is stubborn, he is also a veteran and has made contributions to the country."

"Although he and I have disputes, we don't want Shen Tujia to follow the old path of the Marquis of Beiping."

Zhi Du was thinking about it when he heard Chao Cuo's exclamation in his ear, so he couldn't help but raise his head.

Chao Cuo said earnestly: "We scholars from the Legalist family should take the monarch's will as our primary goal, and we shouldn't get too close in private."

"But the Prime Minister obstructed the "Strategy to Cut Fans" in every possible way, and I really have no choice;"

"That's why I ask Your Majesty to have a meeting with Zhi Zhonglang in this Xuanshi Hall..."

With that said, Chao Cuo stood up and bowed to Zhidu sincerely.

"I hope that Zhi Zhonglang can help me out of the consideration of the ancestral temple and the community."

"Let your majesty get rid of the clan princes and stabilize the Kanto, and at the same time prevent Shen Tujia from having a miserable end..."

(End of this chapter)